Josh’s Anime Blog

The Essentials

Name: Magic Knight Rayearth, Magic Knight Rayearth II
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Episodes: 49 (20 in season 1, 29 in season 2)
Released: October 17, 1994 - March 13, 1995 (season 1), April 10, 1995 - November 27, 1995 (season 2)
Based On: Magic Knight Rayearth manga by CLAMP
Director: Toshihiro Hirano
Produced By: Tokyo Movie Shinsha
US Distribution By: Anime Works

Major Japanese Cast

Hikaru Shidou: Hekiru Shiina
Fuu Hououji: Hiroko Kasahara
Umi Ryuuzaki: Konami Yoshida
Clef: Nozomu Sasaki
Zagato, Lantis: Juurouta Kosugi
Princess Emeraude, Eagle Vision: Megumi Ogata
Nova: Miki Itou
Ferio: Takumi Yamazaki
Alcione: Yuri Amano
Ascot: Minami Takayama
Caldina: Yuko Nagashima
Lafarga: Yukimasa Kishino
Debonair: Atsuko Takahata
Aska: Chinami Nishimura
Tarta: Aya Hisakawa
Tatra: Kikuko Inoue
Mokona: Yuri Shiratori
Inouva: Ryotaro Okiayu
Presea: Emi Shinohara
Rayearth: Hideyuki Tanaka
Windham: Akio Ohtsuka
Selece: Teppi Genda
Geo Metro: Kiyoyuki Yanada
Zazu Torque: Jun’ichi Kanemaru

Major English Cast

Hikaru Shidou: Julie Maddalena
Fuu Hououji: Ruby Marlowe
Umi Ryuuzaki, Princess Emeraude: Wendee Lee
Clef: Steve Cannon
Zagato: Alexis Lang
Nova: Dorothy Melendrez
Lantis, Rayearth, Windham: Lex Lang
Eagle Vision: Jerry Gelb
Ferio: Terry Roberts
Alcione: Barbara Goodson
Ascot: Mona Marshall
Caldina: Selece Zan
Lafarga: John Smallberries
Debonair: Sonja S. Fox
Aska: Sandy Fox
Tarta, Tatra: Melissa Charles
Mokona: Kaeko Sakamoto
Inouva, Selece: Terrence Stone
Presea: Jane Alan
Geo Metro: David Orozco
Zazu Torque: Ian Hawk

Scores
Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)

Total: 164/200 (82%)

Review

Magic Knight Rayearth is a story about 3 girls who are summoned to the magic land of Cephiro. In the first season, the three girls must learn to work together as they try to save the pillar of Cephiro - Princess Emeraude - and by extension Cephiro itself, as the land is maintained by the will and love of the Pillar. However, the Princess has been captured by the high priestess Zagato, and is unable to fully care for the land. As a result, darkness starts covering the land and monsters start appearing. In a final desperate attempt to save Cephiro, Emeraude summons the girls from another girl so that they may become Magic Knights and save Cephiro. The three must learn to work together and to learn how to use and increase the magic given to them by the Master Mage Clef in order to summon the three Manshin, which are required for them to become full Magic Knights.

The second season deals with the three girls in the aftermath of the first season. The girls returned to earth after the first season, but are suddenly summoned back and see that no new Pillar has been chosen to lead Cephiro. As a result, the land has nearly entirely disintegrated. On top of this, the magical barrier which protected Cephiro from foreign invasion has also disappeared, resulting in three invading forces - Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren - the leaders of which all want to become the Pillar in order to fulfill their own personal wants or needs of their nation. In addition, a new sinister force - Debonair and her top agent Nova - has appeared which not only wants to completely destroy Cephiro, but all worlds as well. The three girls must use their power of the Magic Knights to protect Cephiro from these forces as well as to help Cephiro hold out until a new Pillar is chosen.

This series is really a tale of two seasons, The first season flows very well and keeps up it’s momentum through the entire season. The story and action are compelling and while there is a lot of action, and even many of the same enemies keep popping up, each battle is different enough to maintain one’s interest. The second season, however, seems somewhat ad hoc and felt like it became repetitive after a while. Once again, we often find the three girls faced with the same enemies, but the battles just don’t seem to have the same excitement and uniqueness as the battles in the first season did. It also seems more drawn out than the first season.

I think the animation for a 1994/95 series is pretty good and I liked the music and thought that AnimeWorks did a pretty reasonable dubbing job as well. In the end, I think a lot of people will enjoy the first season, but I think if one skips the second season, they won’t necessarily be missing all that much.

First Watched: August - December 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Season 1 yes, Season 2 no